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Satellite companies and their business customers are fighting an Illinois legislative proposal backed by cable companies that would levy a 5% tax on monthly bills. The measure, which has passed the state's Senate, will most likely come before the House in the spring, legislative leaders said. DIRECTV Senior Vice President of Government Relations Andrew Reinsdorf accused cable companies of trying to raise rates on a rival, noting that governments charge the fees to cable operators as "rent" for using local rights-of-way that satellite operators do not need. "It's particularly pernicious for rural Illinois, where cable sometimes doesn't even deign to go," Reinsdorf added.

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Lawmakers in Illinois should reject a proposed tax on satellite TV, because it is discriminatory and merely a ploy by cable firms to make satellite service more expensive, write DIRECTV's Andrew Reinsdorf and DISH Network's Beth Williams. "A new satellite tax is a tax on choice, a tax on competition, a tax on innovation and a tax on you," they write.

Illinois lawmakers will again consider a 5% tax on satellite subscribers' bills this year, despite similar measures failing numerous times in several states, write Andrew Reinsdorf of DIRECTV and Jeff Blum of DISH Network. The provision is being pushed by cable operators, which pay a franchise fee to their localities for access to rights-of-way that satellite operators do not need. "A new satellite tax is a tax on choice, a tax on competition, a tax on innovation. Accordingly, lawmakers should stop this bill in its tracks once and for all," they write.

Aaron Jaffe, chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board, recommended that state lawmakers craft legislation for a Chicago casino apart from a wider bill to expand gambling. However, lawmakers said that they are working to pass the current bill, which includes casinos for Chicago as well as other areas in the state.

The satellite industry is helping lead the fight in Illinois against potential legislation that would impose a 5% tax on satellite bills after a similar measure cleared the state Senate a year ago but fell short of passage. "This is a discriminatory tax on families and businesses that rely on satellite television. ... Subscribers in Illinois should not be forced to pay higher taxes simply because the cable industry wants to gain a competitive advantage at their expense," Andrew Reinsdorf, DIRECTV's senior vice president of government affairs, said last year.

The Illinois Senate voted 54-0 Thursday on a bill to regulate hydraulic fracturing in the state. The bill would designate a lead regulatory agency, require chemical disclosure, and mandate testing of cement and casings using in drilling. The bill heads to the state House.